" MASTER INDIAN FOLK ARTISTS"

                                                    MITHILA  Paintings

                                                                           by

                         Satya Narayan Lal Karn & Moti Karn       

India is blessed to have such a rich tradition of folk art from different parts of the country . We are even more lucky that these traditional art forms have not been allowed to die, and have been revived , nutured, encouraged and exposed by several organisaions, most notably by Paramparik Karigar . I have been involved with Paramparik Karigar since its inception and seen first hand the amazing work they do .

These wonderful people have really worked hard and hand picked the master artists, who have raised their art to a level, where it can now be considered as fine art . These are mere labels, but when you see the dedication, fineness and love that is pured into these paintings, you understand what " art " is truly about .  

JAMAAT is proud to host shows of these master folk artists . They deserve better exposure to show their fine work, and from 15th September onwards till early December ' 09, we will be doing 4 shows of different folk art forms painted by these master folk artists .

MITHILA PAINTING

BY SATYA NARAYAN LAL KARN AND MOTI KARN

15th September to 7th October ' 09

Mithila is the name of the supposed birthplace of Sita from the epic Ramayan. From this region , a rich tradition of domestic, ritual painting has survived from the very ancient times . These paintings are hence called Mithila paintings . 

The painting are broadly in 2 categories of floor drawings or aripana and wall paintings and bhitti chitra .

Floor drawings were done on special occassions like birth , first hair cut , thread ceremony , marriage and death .

Wall drawings were done regularly on the walls of homes at different and distinct places like the kul devata room or prayer room , khobara ghar or bridal room .

These paintings were done mainly by the women of the Kayastha , Brahmin and Dusadhas communities . There are a variation of colours and styles between the communities . 

Whether in floor or wall paintings , every element has a deep rooted symbolism focused on passion , sex , fertility ,  tantric rituals , specially , those executed for marriages . The paintings mostly depict nature and Hindu religious motifs and themes revolving around Hindu deities like Krishna , Ram , Shiva , Durga , Lakshmi and Saraswati .

Natural objects like the sun , moon , religious plants like tulsi & lotus , are also printed , along with social events like weddings and the royal court . Generally , no blank spaces are left and the paintings are very dense in their workmanship . The gaps are filled in by paintings of flowers , animals , birds and even geometric designs .  

Since the late 60s , Mithila paintings got a wider exposure and publicity when it was executed on paper and cloth . Many more transformation took place , including change of medium . These immovable paintings then became mobile and world famous in their style and treatment of the subject matter .      

Master at this art form are SATYA NARAYAN LAL KARN & MOTI KARN

SATYA NARAYAN is considered one of the finest artists of this genre . Born in 1952 in village Jiwatpur in Madhubani district , he learnt this art form from his mother Smt Jagdhamba Devi , one of the first Mithila artist to win the National Award and Padma Shree Award . Since 1971 , Satyanarayan has worked teaching art and craft at the National Bal Bhuvan , Delhi . He has been part of many exhibitions and workshops , lectures and demonstration all over India, Australia, France, Bulgaria and USA . He has won the Kamladevi Chattopadya Memorial Award in 2001 . He wants to establish a teaching academy of this art in Madhubani .

MOTI KARN

Moti was born in 1960 in village Ranti district Madhubani . She learnt Mithila painting from her mother Kapoori Devi , who herself received the National Merit Certificate for Mithila Art from the Government of India and had worked at the Mithila Museum in Japan for many years . Moti Karn has spent much time and labour to lift the common naive concept of Mthila Kala to newer levels of interpretations . She paints religious subject like deities , and each work has different interpretations of customs and traditions , village life and nature . Her main is preserve the old school and to revive the techniques , forms and designs . She paints along with her husband and both also conduct workshops . 

Do come and see these master artists and their exquisite rendition of our folk art .

Gallery hours 11 am to 7 pm [ except Sundays ]

 Pravina Mecklai